Golf ball retriever



April 19, 1955 R. L. TALLEY GOLF BALL RETRIEVER Filed Oct. 10, 1952 INVENTOR. ROYAL L. VALLEY United States Patent GOLF BALL RETRIEVER Royal L. Talley, Sherman, Tex.

Application October 10, 1952, Serial No. 314,039

2 Claims. (Cl. 294-19) This invention relates to hand carried devices for picking up small objects, such as golf balls, from the ground while the user remains in an upright position without stooping or bending over and more particularly to a devlce for enabling a person to pick up a large number of balls as on a golf driving range or practice area, without undue fatigue.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide a hand carried device for picking up small objects, such as golf balls, from the ground while the person using the device remains in an upright position; which is effective to deposit the golf balls picked up from the ground in a bag or other receptacle worn by the person using the device; which has a substantially vertically disposed and elongated handle so that the device can be conveniently and comfortably used by persons of different heights; which is of light weight construction and easy to carry; and which is simple and durable in construction, economical to manufacture, easy to use, and positive and effective in operation.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a golf ball retriever illustrative of the invention shown in operative position for depositing golf balls in a bag worn by a person using the device;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross sectional view on the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse cross sectional view on the line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a transverse cross sectional view on the line 4 4 of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of 'the lower end portion of the device.

With continued reference to the drawing, the golf ball retriever comprises a tube section having a length approximately equal to the distance from the ground to the knee of an adult person when standing upright and having an inside diameter slightly greater than the diameter of a standard golf ball. This tube section is of thin walled construction and is formed of a light weight material of high structural strength, such as aluminum or a suitable synthetic plastic material.

Clamp bands 11 and 12 of circular shape surround the tube section 10 one near each end of the tube section and have outwardly projecting, apertured ears spaced apart and opposed to each other and screws, as indicated at 13 and 14 extend through the apertured Lugs of the bands 11 and 12 respectively for clamping these bands firmly around the tube section 10.

A pair of bails 15 and 16 are secured to the tube section 10 by the clamp band 11 and are formed of lengths of resilient material, such as spring steel wire. The bail 15 includes an intermediate portion 17 of semi-circular shape and straight legs 18 and 19 projecting perpendicularly one from each end of the intermediate portion 17 and the bail 16 comprises an intermediate portion 20 of semi-circular shape and straight legs 21 and 22 extending perpendicularly one from each end of the intermediate portion 20. The intermediate portion 17 of the bail 15 is covered by a tube 23 of elastic material, such as synthetic rubber and the intermediate portion 20 of the bail 16 is covered by a tube 24 of the same elastic material.

The clamp band 11 is provided in its inner surface with rectangular notches 25 and 26 spaced apart approximately one hundred and eighty degrees around the perimeter of the band and the legs 18 and 21 of the bails 15 and 16 are received at their ends remote from the correspondlng intermediate portions 17 and 20 in the notch 25 while the legs 19 and 22 are received at their ends remote from the corresponding intermediate portions in the notch 26. This disposes the two legs of each bail at respectively diametrically opposite sides of the tube section 10 and each leg of one bail adjacent and substantially parallel to a corresponding leg of the other bail. The intermediate portions 17 and 20 of the two bails are spaced outwardly from the adjacent end edge of the tube section and extend around this adjacent end edge in concavely opposed relationship to each other.

A section 27 of flexible tubing having an inside diameter substantially equal to the outside diameter of the tube section 10 receives in one end thereof the end portion of the tubular section 10 carrying the clamp band 12 and the other end of this section of flexible tubing is adapted to be placed in a golf ball receiving bag 28 or other golf ball receptacle worn by the person using the device.

The clamp band 12 extends around the end portion of the flexible tube section receiving the adjacent end portion of the rigid tube section 10 for securing the two tube sections together and this clamp band is provided at diametrically opposite sides with notches 30 and 31 in the inner surface thereof.

A pair of arms 32 and 33 of channel shaped cross section extend from the clamp band 12 outwardly of the adjacent end of the tube section 10 longitudinally of the tube section. The arms 32 is received at one end in the notch 30 in the clamp band 12 and the arm 33 is received at its corresponding end in the notch 33 in the clamp band, these notches being spaced apart approximately one hundred and eighty degrees around the perimeter of the clamp band so that the arms 32 and 33 are disposed at respectively diametrically opposite sides of the tube section 10. The channel shaped arms 32 and 33 have their open sides mutually opposed to each other and converge from a location spaced outwardly from the clamp band 12 toward each other substantially symmetrically of the longitudinal center line of the tube section 10. A handle 35 including an elongated shank 36 tapered from one end to the other and a grip 37 secured on said shank and extending from the larger end of the shank to a location intermediate the length of the shank is secured to the tube section 10 by the arms 32 and 33 and is disposed substantially in longitudinal alignment with the tube section. The shank 36 is disposed at its smaller end between the outer end portions of the arms 32 and 33 and a split clamp band 37 surrounds the outer end portions of the arms 32 and 33 and the portion of the shank 36 received between these arms and is contracted about the arms and the shank by a screw 38 extending through spaced apart, apertured lugs which extend outwardly from the clamp band 37.

When the device is in use the tube covered intermediate portions of the bails 15 and 16 are forced downwardly over a golf ball, as illustrated in Figure 1, so that the golf ball is forced between the opposed tubular coverings 23 and 24 and into the bottom end of the tube section 10. The resilient contraction of the space between the tubular coverings 23 and 24 by the legs of the bails prevents the golf ball from passing back out between these tubular coverings and retains the ball in the lower end of the tube section 10. As golf balls are successively forced between the intermediate portions of the bails, balls previously forced into the tube section 10 are forced upwardly through this tube section and through the flexible tube section 27 and, when both tube sections have been filled with balls, out of the end of the flexible tube section 27 remote from the rigid tube section 10 and into the bag or receptacle 23.

The handle 35, being disposed in upright position when the device is in use, enable persons of different heights to grasp the handle and comfortably use the device. If necessary, the handle can be adjusted in height to a limited extent by loosening the screw 38 and forcing the handle shank further through the clamp band 37 or drawing the shank outwardly of the clamp band and then retightening the clamp screw.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

1. A golf ball retriever comprising a tube section having an inside diameter slightly greater than the diameter of a standard golf ball, clamp bands surrounding said tube section one near each end of the latter, a pair of bails secured to said tube section at one end of said tube section by one of said clamp bands and each including a length of resilient wire bent to provide a substantially semi-circular intermediate portion and legs extending perpendicularly from said semi-circular portion one at each end of the latter, and a covering of elastic material on said semi-circular portion, said bails being secured to said tube section with the legs of each bail disposed at diametrically opposite sides of said tube section and with each leg of one bail adjacent and substantially parallel to a corresponding leg of the other bail and with said intermediate portions extending around the adjacent end edge of said tube section and spaced outwardly therefrom in concavely opposed relationship to each other, a flexible tube secured at one end to said tube section at the other end of the latter by the other of said clamp bands and extending from the adjacent end of said tube section longitudinally of the latter, and an elongated handle secured at one end to said tube section by said other clamp band and extending longitudinally from the adjacent end of said tube section.

2. A golf ball retriever comprising an elongated tube section of rigid construction having an inside diameter slightly greater than the diameter of a golf ball so that golf balls will stack in said tube section one on another when said tube section is held in upright position, resilient means carried by said tube section at one end thereof effective to pass golf balls into said tube section when said one end of said tube section is forced downwardly toward golf balls resting on the ground and to retain stacked golf balls in said tube section, said resilient means including resiliently yielding arcuate portions arranged in concavely opposed relation and lying in a common plane spaced outwardly from said one end of the tube section and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said section, a handle secured to said tube section at the other end of the latter and extending longitudinally from said tube section for applying downward pressure to said section thereby forcing said resilient means over a golf ball to be retrieved, and a length of flexible tubing secured at one end to said tube section in surrounding relationship to said other end of the tube section and extending from said tube section to convey golf balls moved upwardly through said tube section from the upper end of the latter into a receptacle carried by a person using the golf ball retriever.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,170,960 Canterbury Feb. 8, 1916 2,203,170 MacDonald June 4, 1940 2,204,482 Filipiak June 11, 1940 2,549,257 Staunt Apr. 17, 1951 

